Some 83% of College Graduates During Recession Are Working

The majority of students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees in the beginning of the recession are employed, according to a report released by the National Center for Education Statistics.

The report analyzed the demographics of students who received bachelor’s degrees during the 2007-2008 school year four years later. In 2012, 83% of 2007-2008 graduates who weren’t enrolled in another educational program were employed.

Millennials still make up 40% of the unemployed in America. Two million of the 4.6 million unemployed Millennials fall into the long-term category.

Out of that 83% that was employed, 85% worked one full-time job, 8% worked in one part-time job and 8% had multiple jobs. About 85% of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors were employed. More than 90% of them were in one full-time job. About 82% of non-STEM majors were employed in 2012, and 83.3% were in one full-time job.

Engineering majors had the highest share of employment with 89.6%. Almost 93% of those were in one full-time job. Social sciences majors had the lowest share of employment with 78.2%.

Students from public, 4-year institutions had a higher rate of employment (83.6%) than private, nonprofit, 4-year schools (81.9%). About 72.5% of graduates from a for-profit, 4-year school were employed.

For the employed who weren’t in school, the degree recipients from the 2007-2008 class were working an average 41.2 hours a week and making a median $46,000 in a full-time job. When broken down by race and ethnicity, black full-time workers made a median $42,000, which was lowest among all segments.

STEM majors, on average, worked more each week, but their salaries reflect that. The median full-time salary for an engineering major was $67,600, while the median full-time salary for an education major was $37,000.

Degree recipients from a for-profit, 4-year institution made a median $54,000, while those from a nonprofit, public, 4-year institution made a median $45,000 a year (and private school graduates were at $47,500).

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